Oh yeah it is super chilly here, burrrr. Only expecting a high of 98 degrees F or 37 degrees c for our canadian viewers. On the downside the cloudless blue of the sky hurts my eyes. Enjoy your rain and remember we have lots of homes for sell here is California. Okay I maybe a brat. I prefer to think of myself as deightful.

Another 90 plus degrees today......LOVING IT!!!!
Earl might be getting here for Open Bar Friday. He will have a few drinks and mellow out and loose all his energy.

1 Root Canal down and one more to go. Was not as bad as I thought it would be! :-D

September is National Prostate Cancer Awareness Month. Prostate Cancer is not an "Old Man's Cancer" anymore. Men as young as in the 40's and 50's have PC too!!!
All men 40 and over get your PSA level checked Every year!!! PC is the 2nd leading cancer in men.

Enjoy the day gang!!!!!!

__________________CQ's Cruise Resume

Vision Of The Seas
Independence Of The Seas x2
Allure Of The Seas
Carnival Breeze
Oasis Of The Seas x3
Liberty Of The Seas x4
Freedom Of The Seas x3
Navigator Of The Seas x2
Explorer Of The Seas x2
Voyager Of The Seas
Enchantment Of The Seas
Rhapsody Of The Seas
Majesty Of The Seas
Monarch Of The Seas
Sovereign Of The Seas
Celebrity Mercury
Carnival Victory

Wow these pictures are bigger then I thought they would be.
Hi CQ I'm glad to hear the rool canal went well. I'm going to add you PC image to my signature. My hubby should start being checked for this.

Bob good luck I hope the rain holds off for you.

TM I'm sorry to hear you were exposed to Agent Orange. What is Agent Orange exact?

Just heard Earl is now a cat 4 and has gained speed overnight. 145 MPH. Also its threatening more of the East coast than any other Hurricane in 20 years.
So if your in its path, please stay safe!! Watch out for the tornadoes afterwards, they are far worse than the Hurricane itself.
I went through 5 hurricanes while living in Florida, so I know how the people are feeling about now.
Prayers for everyone in its path!!!

We are suppose to hit 90 today. But we are starting cool and cloudy. Only 59 outside right now.
I think we are all looking forward to a long holiday weekend around here to just relax. All the grumpy people have showed up this week with my hubby's work. He is about out of patience with them. Plus sons car needs to be fixed and we hope to see about that this weekend too.

Have a great day all.
My drink today is HOT tea because its cold here this morning.

Kat - going to be in your neck of the woods the end of the month - my daughter works for the Corps of Engineers and they are having a meeting in Sacramento - I'm not sure when we'll be arriving or leaving, she has to get me the final details - but I'll let you know so that maybe we can meet!

TM - I worked at the local VA for 18 yrs and met a lot of guys who had been exposed to Agent Orange while in Nam. Glad to hear that you are taking care of yourself by getting those needed checkups.

Henry - I'm an only child as well - if there's not a club/organization for "Only Kids" I think one needs to be started - we are so misunderstood sometimes!

CQ - take care and don't party too much with Earl - don't want him to go crazy or anything after being at "Open Bar Friday"

TM I'm sorry to hear you were exposed to Agent Orange. What is Agent Orange exact?

Agent Orange was a chemical that the used to kill all kinds of foliage.
It was used quite a bit along the sides of roads to clear away the jungle where the VC would seek cover and ambush convoys.
Many parts of Vietnam were extensively sprayed and there was damage to the environment as well as to people.

Kat - going to be in your neck of the woods the end of the month - my daughter works for the Corps of Engineers and they are having a meeting in Sacramento - I'm not sure when we'll be arriving or leaving, she has to get me the final details - but I'll let you know so that maybe we can meet!

TM - I worked at the local VA for 18 yrs and met a lot of guys who had been exposed to Agent Orange while in Nam. Glad to hear that you are taking care of yourself by getting those needed checkups.

Henry - I'm an only child as well - if there's not a club/organization for "Only Kids" I think one needs to be started - we are so misunderstood sometimes!

CQ - take care and don't party too much with Earl - don't want him to go crazy or anything after being at "Open Bar Friday"

Kat - going to be in your neck of the woods the end of the month - my daughter works for the Corps of Engineers and they are having a meeting in Sacramento - I'm not sure when we'll be arriving or leaving, she has to get me the final details - but I'll let you know so that maybe we can meet!

TM - I worked at the local VA for 18 yrs and met a lot of guys who had been exposed to Agent Orange while in Nam. Glad to hear that you are taking care of yourself by getting those needed checkups.

Henry - I'm an only child as well - if there's not a club/organization for "Only Kids" I think one needs to be started - we are so misunderstood sometimes!

CQ - take care and don't party too much with Earl - don't want him to go crazy or anything after being at "Open Bar Friday"

everyone have a great day - the weekend's almost here!!

That would be great we could do lunch. What kind of food you like? You will probably be staying downtown it so you should go to old town it's pretty cool over there. :-D

Agent Orange was a chemical that the used to kill all kinds of foliage.
It was used quite a bit along the sides of roads to clear away the jungle where the VC would seek cover and ambush convoys.
Many parts of Vietnam were extensively sprayed and there was damage to the environment as well as to people.

TM

That is terrible I'm sorry you got exposed to that stuff. I had heard of Agent Orange, but I never really knew what it was.

That is terrible I'm sorry you got exposed to that stuff. I had heard of Agent Orange, but I never really knew what it was.

I consider myself very lucky. I went to Vietnam and I came back. I have had a good life and have been to many places. I have a son and two daughters, and now I am happily retired.
I feel bad for a friend of mine who was also from my little town in Portugal who died over there.

I think about him very often, and I have been to The Wall in DC twice and I was able to find his name there.

Today is a good Friday. We get to celebrate TM's arrival in the US 53 years ago. Hopefully my DW will come home today - they say Earl may hit Cape Code early tomorrow AM so that may not interfere with her leaving today. Otherwise I may not see her until after the weekend. At least she has a place to stay if she can't get out.

Temps may crash this weekend. They are talking about a high of 70 tomorrow - welcome to September.

Olympia was initially used for the North Atlantic run between New York, Halifax, Cobh, Cherbourg, Southampton, and Bremerhaven, although her two outdoor pools and lido areas would indicate she was ultimately intended for the warmer southern route from New York to the Mediterranean and Greece. During the winter season, Olympia would be employed in cruise service.

After her maiden voyage on the 20th October 1953 from Southampton to New York, Olympia remained in North Atlantic service until early 1955, when she was assigned to the Mediterranean route from New York or Boston to Halifax, Lisbon, Naples, Messina, and Piraeus. In 1961, her service was extended to include Limassol and Haifa. As the demand for North Atlantic sea travel peaked in the late 1950s and began its decline in the 1960s, Olympia and ships of her generation gradually undertook more cruise service. Fortunately, Olympia was designed with warm weather voyages in mind, so she was well equipped for cruise service. Full air conditioning, plenty of outdoor deck space, and two passenger pools had already been serving her cruise passengers well when she alternated from the transatlantic run. By 1968, when Olympia was finally registered in Greece, it was time for the ship's first major facelift and she was converted from part-time to full-time cruising. Sadly in 1974 Greek Line collapsed and ceased operations and the Olympia and the other ships in the Greek Line fleet were laid up at Piraeus.

I consider myself very lucky. I went to Vietnam and I came back. I have had a good life and have been to many places. I have a son and two daughters, and now I am happily retired.
I feel bad for a friend of mine who was also from my little town in Portugal who died over there.

I think about him very often, and I have been to The Wall in DC twice and I was able to find his name there.

That is why I apreciate life. It is very precious.

TM

I was a baby at the time of the vietnam war. When I got older the thing that bothered me was the soliders that came back from war did not get the respect this deserved. For you, your friend that died, and all the only soldiers that fought in the Vietnam War. I thank you for your service and you are appreicated and respected.

TM both my brothers are Vietnam vets. My husband was in the army but not until the war was almost over. But his older brother was a paratrooper in the Marines. Twice he parachutted into the jungle and he was the ONLY survivor of his group. He has a case full of medals he doesnt want so we are keeping them for his kids. He has had a good life too but memories haunt him all the time. He has never been as happy or carefree attitude as before he went in.

My dad was a WW2 vet, wounded 3 times and he had physical and mental pain the rest of his life from it but he still believed in the cause.
His younger brother died as a POW in Korea.

So we are a military family and I understand alot of the emotions people go through after fighting.

You have an excellant attitute about life which has given you a rich, full life. Thats is great! I am so happy to hear you have learned to cope with your memories.
I too agree the Vietnam vets never got their praise for what they went through. Only now are people starting to have memorials and to realise what these vets endured.

Today is cooler and again they are saying 90 and it never got there yesterday, and i dont think it will today either.

Since its a holiday weekend the freeway by me is really busy this morning. I will be alot worse this afternoon, Greg will get off early today and he has to drive the freeway to get home, so it may take a lot longer than usual.

We will stay home and relax this holiday. Too many people out driving crazy.

Hope all of you have a great 3 day weekend. Of course if your retired you always have 3 day weekends Soon winter will be here, so enjoy the end of summer.

I Will know more details re the trip after this weekend. My dd is new to this travel stuff on the civilian side of gov't work. When she was in the military she just did what she was told, but now as a civilian gov't worker, she's seeing how people take advantage of everything, so she's trying to find out the real rules and regs - for her travel.

TM - congrats on your anniversary of coming to the States and thank you for serving in the Army.

I hope everyone has a very laid back and fun filled Labor Day Weekend!